Work behind the scenes paid off, says ‘relieved’ Mohit Avasthi

Mohit Avasthi needed no second invitation to show what Mumbai had missed in the first half of the Ranji Trophy season. A week after returning to Mumbai’s whites following a long injury lay-off, the 33-year-old swing bowler produced a timely five-wicket haul against Delhi, a performance that felt like a statement of intent.

“You can say relief,” Avasthi said, moments after bagging his sixth five-for in First Class cricket. “I am playing Ranji Trophy after a long time. I was injured, it was a major injury, so it was very important for me to come back. I took five wickets, so the process (work) behind the scenes paid off.” While wickets fell in a rush in the latter half of the day, Avasthi stressed the importance of patience. “In the first two-three spells, nothing was happening because we were trying to identify the length. We played on black soil in Hyderabad, but this was different. After a couple of spells, we got the length right as a unit, and it paid off.

”The process of making a comeback was anything but easy. A ligament tear in his right shoulder forced Avasthi to miss the first five rounds of the red-ball season, testing the patience of a late bloomer who has built his career on persistence. “As a fast bowler, it’s very difficult to get back into that zone,” he admitted. “The rhythm I was in last year, coming back after that took a lot of time.

”Credit, Avasthi said, belonged as much to the Mumbai Cricket Association’s support system as to his own resolve. “The facilities they have given me at the academy, the coaches and physios helped me a lot during this time.”